Volume 46 - No. 29
July 21, 2016
by Friedrich Gomez
Whenever the word “hero” is mentioned, we immediately think of people in various acts of courage. Almost never do we think of the four-footed creatures which adorn our lives, become members of our precious family and, often, sacrifice their own lives so that we may continue living our own. The unconditional love these animals exhibit towards us is truly humbling and we can only marvel at how this level of unswerving love and innocence is rarely equaled by us human beings towards each another.
Aside from our loyal household pets, some animals go beyond the ‘call of duty’ in helping human beings live a richer, more enjoyable life, every minute of every day.
Such is the case with Service Dogs which are trained to aid the blind, physically disabled, and even those with medical maladies such as depression, bi-polar, and seizures. According to the University of Arizona 0.9% of persons with disabilities are partnered with service dogs for a wide variety of disabilities. In 1990, Congress found that there were 43 million Americans with disabilities: “Suggesting that there are approximately 387,000 service dogs across the United States.”
One of the more remarkable traits of these heroic canine companions is their unusual ability to “anticipate seizures” before they happen. Such specially-trained service dogs are called, “Seizure Response Dogs,” which are partnered with people with seizure-related illnesses such as epilepsy. This phenomenon is not fully understood by the scientific community, nevertheless, its reality is fully accepted. This is truly an astonishing ability which dogs seem to possess within their realm of instincts, an inherent trait which humans do not have. The self-sacrificing heroics of such seizure-response dogs are most compelling. This specially-trained service animal may even --voluntarily -- place its body in-between the seizing person and the floor – thus breaking the fall of the person at the inception of their seizure attack! Their love and devotion seems to go beyond their normal training habits!
A sobering fact is that many of these specially-trained service dogs had to be rescued, themselves, from various animal shelters where they were scheduled to be euthanized (put to death). These dogs from various The Paper - 760.747.7119
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local shelters comprise unwanted pets and puppies. Some are saved from death, re-homed, and trained as four-footed heroes for a variety of disabled people. Most are not.
Tragically, most are killed, simply because they were not loved enough to keep. Dan McManus suffers from anxiety, and has trouble focusing on important matters, such as when to take his medication, or keeping critical doctor appointments. He also has bouts of being extremely excited known as ‘hyperactivity,’ which is a great distraction to others around him. He can-
not help acting this way. does.
He just
As if these disabilities were not enough, McManus also suffers from night terrors and panic attacks. Night terrors are uncontrollable nightmares when he screams and is terrified while in a dream state, often flailing his arms and legs around wildly. His heart rate zooms to a dangerous level because of the extreme fear that consumes him. On top of it all, Dan McManus would eventually be diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
It was abundantly clear that McManus -- with a variety of clinical
Four-Footed Heroes Continued on Page 2
disorders -- needed a constant companion to soothe his bouts of anxiety and calm him down during his horrible panic attacks. His life required someone to be with him 24/7 to protect him from his blackest, most vulnerable moments, when his bi-polar malady seemed to get the upper hand and he thought of taking his own life as a ‘way out.’ Then one day, in 2003, he found that perfect love affair -- he acquired a service dog. The dog came to him through an intensive training program designed to assist such people as McManus. His new canine companion answered to the name of Bandit. For the first time, McManus experienced a loyal partner who